@article{3219453,
    title = "Immunogenic Cell Death, DAMPs and Prothymosin α as a Putative Anticancer Immune Response Biomarker",
    author = "Birmpilis, A.I. and Paschalis, A. and Mourkakis, A. and Christodoulou, P. and Kostopoulos, I.V. and Antimissari, E. and Terzoudi, G. and Georgakilas, A.G. and Armpilia, C. and Papageorgis, P. and Kastritis, E. and Terpos, E. and Dimopoulos, M.A. and Kalbacher, H. and Livaniou, E. and Christodoulou, M.-I. and Tsitsilonis, O.E.",
    journal = "Cell Reports Medicine",
    year = "2022",
    volume = "11",
    number = "9",
    publisher = "MDPI",
    doi = "10.3390/cells11091415",
    abstract = "The new and increasingly studied concept of immunogenic cell death (ICD) revealed a previously unknown perspective of the various regulated cell death (RCD) modalities, elucidating their immunogenic properties and rendering obsolete the notion that immune stimulation is solely the outcome of necrosis. A distinct characteristic of ICD is the release of danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) by dying and/or dead cells. Thus, several members of the DAMP family, such as the well-characterized heat shock proteins (HSPs) HSP70 and HSP90, the high-mobility group box 1 protein and calreticulin, and the thymic polypeptide prothymosin α (proTα) and its immunoreactive fragment proTα(100–109), are being studied as potential diagnostic tools and/or possible therapeutic agents. Here, we present the basic aspects and mechanisms of both ICD and other immunogenic RCD forms; denote the role of DAMPs in ICD; and further exploit the relevance of human proTα and proTα(100–109) in ICD, highlighting their possible clinical applications. Furthermore, we present the preliminary results of our in vitro studies, which show a direct correlation between the concentration of proTα/proTα(100–109) and the levels of cancer cell apoptosis, induced by anticancer agents and γ-radiation. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland."
}